Naseem HamedOn this day in 1974, Naseem Hamed was born in Sheffield, England.

A unique combination of power and speed, Hamed was one of the most exciting fighters of the late 1990s. In 1995, in only the 19th fight of his career, he won the WBO Featherweight title with an eighth-round stoppage of Steve Robinson. Hamed then successfully defended that belt 15 times, winning 13 of those bouts by knockout.

While he was given many accolades by the boxing community, Hamed was also labeled as obnoxious. His entrances were long and flashy, he would taunt opponents in the ring, and his sound bytes were often edgy. However, as Larry Merchant often says, “It ain’t braggin’ if you can back it up.�? For the first 35 bouts of his career, the flamboyance matched the performance.

But in 2001, Hamed faced the toughest opponent of his career in Marco Antonio Barrera. The veteran Barrera, who had moved up in weight for the bout, kept Hamed off balance the entire fight. The decision victory for Barrera would have been by a wider margin had he not become frustrated with Hamed’s antics and slammed his head into a turnbuckle in the 12th round, causing a point to be deducted.

Hamed has fought one bout since then, a unanimous decision win over Manuel Calvo in 2002. Although he has flirted with returning to the ring, he has never done so. It is highly likely that he will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame at some point in the near future.

1843- John Graham Chambers (12 February 1843 – 4 March 1883)
Chambers codified the "Marquess of Queensberry rules" upon which modern-day boxing is based. In 1867, he established the rules, which include the required use of boxing gloves, the ten-count, and three-minute rounds. He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

(September 26, 1907 – February 12, 1992) was a Dutch boxer, who won the gold medal in the featherweight division at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Born in Rotterdam as Lambertus Steenhorst, he adopted the name of his stepfather Pieter van Klaveren when he was eight. His nickname was The Dutch Windmill.
In 1931 he became European champion in the lightweight division and in 1938 he won the same title in the middleweight division. Van Klaveren contested his last match at age 48, on March 19, 1956. His younger brother Piet competed as a boxer for The Netherlands at the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Ĩ ÁM ŚŤŔÁŶČÁŤ ÁŃĎ Ĩ ÁPPŔŐVĔ ŤĤĨŚ MĔŚŚÁĞĔ
>^^< ŚŤŔÚŤ!

ScapposeJohn commenting on Shane Mosely possibly being unaware he was taking PED's wrote:
Likewise. It reminds me of President Clinton saying that he smoked weed in college but never inhaled. Yeah..........right.

2009- Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai (formerly Yodsanan 3-K Battery) KO 3 Jonathan Simamora, Bangkok, Thailand. Wins Vacant IBF Australasian Junior Welterweight Title. (Yodsanan's last bout- he retires with a record of 57-3-1 with 46 wins by knockout. He was 4-1 in world title bouts, having held the WBA world super feathrweight title from April 13, 2002 until April 30, 2005.)

1896- Pete Herman (born Peter Gulotta in New Orleans, Louisiana)
One of the all time great bantamweight world champions. An Italian-American, Herman was born Peter Gulotta in New Orleans, Louisiana, and fought from 1912 until 1922. He retired with a record of 69 wins (19 by KO), 11 losses, 8 draws and 61 No Decisions in 149 Bouts.
Herman was a smooth boxer and great body puncher. He fought his first pro fight at the age of 16, and two years later held his own during a 10-round No Decision bout against world bantamweight champion Kid Williams. Herman eventually won the title from Williams, even though Williams was allowed to pick his own referee for the match. Nevertheless, referee Bill Rocap awarded Herman the decision and the bantamweight title after 20 rounds of fighting.
Herman's most memorable match was fought against Jimmy Wilde, the legendary English flyweight champion of the world. The two fought in 1920, three weeks after Herman lost his bantamweight title in Madison Square Garden to Joe Lynch.
The Wilde-Herman fight was staged in London. Herman used his weight advantage and body punching to wear Wilde down. Herman hurt Wilde in the 15th and knocked him through the ropes three times in the 17th round to end the fight. The classy Wilde made no excuses. He stated after the fight "I can sincerely say that Herman beat me because he was the better boxer."
On July 25, 1921 Herman fought Lynch in a rematch for the world bantamweight title in storied Ebbets Field. This time Herman easily outpointed Lynch to regain the crown fueling speculation that he had thrown the first fight. He lost his championship two fights later when he was outpointed by Johnny Buff.
Herman had begun losing sight in one eye, and he claimed to have been blind in that eye when he fought Buff. He fought five more times, knocking out number one contender Packy O'Gatty in one round, and retired in 1922.
Herman eventually became completely blind. After his retirement from the ring, he owned and operated a club in the famed New Orleans French Quarter. Pete Herman's was a New Orleans landmark until Herman's retirement.

1889- Johnny Coulon (born John Frederic Coulon in Toronto Canada)
as the bantamweight boxing champion of the world from 6 March 1910, when he wrested the crown from England's Jim Kendrick, until 1914, when he was defeated by Kid Williams.
Born in Toronto to American parents Emile Eugene Coulon (1857–1911) and Sarah Loretta Waltzinger (1857–1923), Coulon grew up in turn-of-the-century Chicago, where, as a prelim fighter, he became known as "The Cherry Picker from Logan Square." He turned pro at 16 and was champion at 21. His career, managed by his father, Eugene "Pop" Coulon, stretched from 1905 to 1920. The hall-of-famer is listed as losing only four times in 97 fights, but he claimed to have fought over 300 pro fights.
Coulon won his first 26 bouts before losing a 10-round decision to Kid Murphy. In a rematch with Murphy in 1908, Coulon reversed the decision and earned recognition as the American bantamweight champion.
After capturing the world title against Kendrick in 19 rounds, he defended the title against Earl Denning, Frankie Conley, Frankie Burns, and Kid Williams. He finally lost the crown in 1914 when Williams stopped him in the third round. He also faced Harry Forbes during his career. Coulon met three Hall-of-Famers in his career: Kid Williams, Pete Herman, and Charley Goldman, who is best known for training Rocky Marciano.
Coulon served in the United States Army during World War I, often instructing soldiers on how to fight. He boxed twice after his service stint and retired from the ring in 1920 with a record of 56 wins, 4 draws, and 32 no-contests.
After retirement, he began public performances with a stupendous stage act. He would appear stripped to the waist and challenge anyone in the audience to try to lift him off his feet. It seemed an empty challenge since at five feet and barely 110 pounds, he was smaller than many schoolboys. But each who took up the challenge soon left the stage baffled and frustrated. Coulon himself never made any extravagant claims that he could violate natural laws. He was content to make a living by presenting a baffling stage act. The trick was that Coulon would feign a struggle, grabbing the opponent by the neck and applying pressure to a nerve there.
In 1921, Coulon married Marie Maloney (1892–1984). She never saw him fight professionally, but together they opened Coulon's Gymnasium on the South Side of Chicago. Marie was the business manager. "His professional career was over when we met, but together we saw oh so many of the great ones train at our gym down thru the years — men like Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, Jim Braddock, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Muhammad Ali."[citation needed] Ali would often use the gym to keep himself toned during his exile years. Coulon managed junior welterweight champion Eddie Perkins (74-20-4) and light-heavyweight contender Allen Thomas.
Ernest Hemingway visited Coulon's and insisted on sparring with the local pugs. LeRoy Neiman sketched boxers working out. A cult movie of the sixties, Medium Cool, filmed scenes at the gym, where Coulon briefly appeared, a tiny old man captured forever on celluloid.
Coulon was not only a topnotch trainer, but living boxing history. He was a close friend of Jack Johnson, had frequented Johnson's restaurant, the "Café de Champion," and had even been a pallbearer at the great champion's funeral. He had known every heavyweight champion since the Great John L. Sullivan, had been bantamweight champion of the world, had trained hundreds of fighters and was a revered celebrity in Chicago during the 1960s. At 76 he could leave a ring by jumping over a top rope, landing softly on his feet. He celebrated a birthday by walking the length of the gym on his hands. He died at 84 in 1973 in Chicago and was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery.
Coulon was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1955 (Sport: Boxing; Theme: Strength & Science), was installed in the Catholic Youth Organization's Club of Champions for his contributions to amateur boxing in 1971, and into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1999.

1936- Pone Kingpetch (born in Hua Hin, Thailand)
Professional Thai boxer and three time world flyweight champion. He became Thailand's first world boxing champion on April 16, 1960 when he defeated Pascual Pérez of Argentina at Lumphini Boxing Stadium in Bangkok for the world flyweight championship. He later lost the world flyweight championship to Fighting Harada of Japan on October 10, 1962. Pone Kingpetch regained the world championship after defeating Harada on January 12, 1963 before losing it to Hiroyuki Ebihara. He won the title for the last time when he defeated Ebihara on January 23, 1963 before losing the flyweight championship to Salvatore Burruni. Kingpetch retired in 1966 and died on March 31, 1982 at the age of 47.

1959- Tyrone Booze (born in Hartford, Connecticut)
Former boxer who held the World Boxing Organization cruiserweight world championship.
Booze became a professional boxer in 1982 and had mixed success during his early career. He had early losses in the 1980s to Evander Holyfield, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Johnny DuPlooy, Bert Cooper, Dwigh Braxton (to be known as Dwight Muhammad Qawi), and Henry Tillman. In 1990 he lost to Nate Miller for the North American Boxing Federation cruiserweight title and lost by a unanimous decision. After winning one fight he then challenged Magne Havnaa in 1991 for the WBO cruiserweight belt. He lost a twelve-round split decision. When Havnaa relinquished his title, Booze knocked out Derek Angol on July 25, 1992, and won the WBO title. He defended the belt once, against Ralf Rocchigiani. On February 13, 1993, Markus Bott defeated Booze by a unanimous decision to take the title.
Booze did not fight for a title again and retired in 1998 after losing to Jesse Ferguson.

1971- Vernon Forrest (born in Augusta, Georgia)
American professional boxer who became a world champion in the welterweight and light middleweight divisions and noted for his two victories over Shane Mosley and upset losses to Ricardo Mayorga.
Forrest began boxing at the age of 9. After achieving an impressive 225-16 record as an amateur, he became the 1992 US junior welterweight champion, and won the 1991 World Amateur Boxing Championships national title. Forrest was the first in his family to graduate from high school receiving his diploma from Marquette Senior High School in Marquette, Michigan. Staying in Marquette, Forrest was on scholarship to Northern Michigan University where he majored in business administration through the U.S. Olympic Education Center. Forrest continued to train with the US National Team under head coach Al Mitchell.
He was a member of the 1992 US Olympic Team during the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. He earned his Olympic position by beating Shane Mosley in the trials. After that fight, Forrest was the gold medal favorite heading in to the tournament, he would then have to fight Cuban fighter Hector Vinent, a gold medalist, before reaching that goal. However, he was stricken with food poisoning a day before his first round bout and was beaten by Peter Richardson. He returned home to Augusta, then moved to Las Vegas, and made his professional debut on November 25, 1992.
In his professional debut in November 1992, Forrest defeated Charles Hawkins. He won his first professional title, IBC Jr. Welterweight Championship, in November 1995. Through 1996, Forrest stopped 13 out of 15 opponents. Five were stopped in the first round.
As the years went by Forrest won a few minor title belts. It the year 2000 Forrest finally got his chance to fight for the IBF welterweight title against Raul Frank. A cut caused by an accidental head butt ended the bout in round three and the fight was ruled a no contest.
Forrest met Frank again in a rematch at Madison Square Garden on May 15, 2001, on a Félix Trinidad undercard. Forrest dominated his opponent and won the fight by a unanimous decision to claim the title.
In 2001, Forrest fought the WBC welterweight champion, Shane Mosley. Many considered Mosley to be the best fighter in the world, and he was the betting favorite to win the fight. However, Forrest scored an upset and beat Mosley by a unanimous decision. Six months later, Forrest once again defeated Mosley by a unanimous decision. His two wins over Mosley earned Forrest the Ring 2002 fighter of the year award.
In January 2003, Forrest fought the WBA welterweight champion, Ricardo Mayorga and suffered his first professional loss when Mayorga knocked him out in the third round. Later that year, he fought Mayorga again and lost by a majority decision.
Forrest took two years off from fighting because of injuries; Forrest had complete reconstructive surgery on his left arm. He had three surgeries two on his shoulder to repair a torn rotator cuff and one on his left elbow to repair torn cartilage and nerve damages.
In his first fight since losing twice to Mayorga, Forrest knocked out Sergio Rios in two rounds. After the fight against Rios, Forrest stopped Elco Garcia in the tenth round.
Forrest won a somewhat controversial ten round unanimous decision over Ike Quartey on August 5, 2006, at Madison Square Theatre, New York City. The judges at ringside scored the fight, 95-94, 95-94, and 96-93.
On July 28, 2007, Forrest won a unanimous decision against Carlos Baldomir in Tacoma, Washington, frequently firing off heavy right blows at Baldomir. After twelve rounds, Forrest won a lopsided 118-109, 116-111, 118-109 decision to take the vacant WBC light middleweight title.
On December 1, 2007, at Foxwoods Resort Casino, he successfully defended his light middleweight title against Italian Michele Piccirillo, scoring an eleventh round TKO.
On June 7, 2008, Forrest lost his title to The Contender winner Sergio Mora via a 12 round majority decision. In the build-up to the fight, Forrest referred to Mora as "the pretender" and threatened to send him "out on a stretcher". However, Mora succeeded in pulling off the upset victory.The final scores were 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112 in favor of Mora.
Forrest (41-3) reclaimed his WBC 154-pound title on September 14, 2008, against Sergio Mora via unanimous decision, the judges score were 118-109, 117-110, and 119-110.
Forrest was involved directly with the creation of the Not for Profit Destiny's Child, a group home that assists people with developmental, emotional, and psychological disabilities and needs. Forrest was also involved directly with helping the clients by organizing Destiny's Child's activities.
At about 11:00 pm EDT on July 25, 2009, Forrest stopped at a gas station in the Atlanta neighborhood of Mechanicsville. With him was his 11-year-old godson. As the boy went inside the gas station, Forrest went to the back of his car to add air to a low tire. As this occurred, a man robbed him at gunpoint and fled. Forrest, who was armed, went after the man and shots were exchanged. After a short distance, Forrest gave up the chase and began talking to a second man. It was this man that shot Forrest seven to eight times in the back. According to police, the shooter and a second person left the scene in a red Pontiac. Forrest was pronounced dead at the scene and the death was ruled a homicide. Atlanta Police have arrested and charged 25-year-old Jquante Crews, 20-year-old Demario Ware, and 30-year-old Charman Sinkfield for his murder. It is believed that Sinkfield was the shooter, Ware was the robber, and Crews was the driver.

1974- Naseem Hamed (born in Sheffield, England)
Known for his boxing antics and spectacular ring entrances that have included being deposited in the middle of the ring by an elevator, which was set up specially for the event near the roof of the Manchester Evening News Arena, entering the ring in a low-rider Chevrolet Impala, entering on a flying carpet, re-enacting the video of Michael Jackson's Thriller, being carried into the ring on a palanquin, walking into the ring on a fashion runway style walk way and walking into the ring with a Halloween mask for his fight with Wayne McCullough (fought on Halloween night of 1998). He was also known for his front somersault over the top rope into the ring, which he did for all his professional fights.
Hamed is also known for his unorthodox behaviour outside the ring. He had an altercation at Heathrow Airport with former boxing world champion Chris Eubank, showing off his belts and reminding Eubank that he was no longer a champion. He was managed by Barry Hearn then Frank Warren and finally by his eldest brother Riath Hamed. In May 2006, he was jailed for 15 months for dangerous driving but was granted an early release in September 2006. Hamed was awarded the MBE in 1999, but it was revoked in December 2006, after his jail sentence
Hamed was born in Sheffield, to Yemeni parents, in 1974. Hamed started boxing professionally at Flyweight in 1992. He soon began rising through the ranks as he knocked out a series of opponents in the opening rounds. Age 20 he won the European Bantamweight title, comprehensively beating the beleaguered Vincenzo Belcastro over twelve rounds. After one defense he added the WBC International Super-Bantamweight title to his CV in 1994, overwhelming Freddy Cruz in Sheffield, whom he severely punished & stopped in the sixth round. Hamed's popularity grew, his unorthodox style winning a large fan base and his boxing antics generating a large group of detractors. After signing for Frank Warren, Hamed, employing spectacular entrances in which he began somersaulting over the top rope and entering the arena to Here Comes the Hotstepper, knocked out better oppostition in Enrique Angeles and Juan Polo Pérez, both within two rounds.
Later in 1995, after controversially being named the WBO #1 Featherweight contender (despite never having boxed at that weight), Hamed moved up to face Wales' defending WBO Champion Steve Robinson. After dominating the bout & scoring a knockdown in Round 5, Hamed won the title when the referee stopped the fight in Round 8 after Robinson was caught with a left hook and lost his footing. The fight was held in front of Robinson's home crowd at Cardiff Arms Park, a roofless stadium now replaced by The Millenium Stadium, with rain pouring down on the fighters and the ring.
His first defence came against Austrian based Nigerian, Said Lawal, who was instantly knocked down from Hamed's first punch, then stopped in just 35 seconds after being effortlessly dropped again. This was the fastest world title fight ever held in Scotland, much to the displeaure of the crowd. Hamed's second defence was against against undefeated Puerto Rican Daniel Alicea. Televised in the United States by Showtime, Hamed was carried to the ring on a grand throne, something which Hamed later stated he was not comfortable with. After a fast, lively start from Alicea, Hamed suffered a surprising brief knockdown in Round 1, the first of his career. However, Hamed won the fight in his favoured Round 2 with two knockdowns, the second of which forced the referee to wave the fight off instantly.
Hamed's next defense was in Dublin against former two-time world Featherweight title holder Manuel Medina. After knocking Medina down heavily in Round 2, Hamed struggled to finish the fight until finally knocking Medina down twice in Round 11. The end came when the ring side doctor advised Medina's corner to stop the fight. Hamed revealed in his post-fight interview that he'd fought with a heavy cold. Medina would go on to have many more tough title fights, remarkably winning versions of the Featherweight world title another three times. Hamed's next opponent was the 27-0 Remigio Molina of Argentina, who was stopped in two rounds.
The next opponent was IBF Champion Tom "Boom Boom" Johnson, who was defeated in eight rounds in a unification bout at the London Arena. After being constantly stunned & staggered from Round 3 onwards, Johnson was finally dropped by a huge uppercut, then saved from further punishment by the referee. Hamed's first defense of both the WBO & IBF titles was a first round ko of veteran British boxer Billy Hardy. Before the bout Hamed had correctly predicted he would win in Round 1. The next defense was an easy two round win against a hugely outclassed Juan Gerardo Carbrera. Due to boxing politics involving the IBF's mandatory challenger, Hamed was soon forced to relinquish the IBF title.
In Hamed's hometown of Sheffield in October 1997, he produced one of the finest performances of his career in defending his WBO title against the tough contender Jose Badillo, who's corner stopped the fight during Round 7.
In late 1997 Hamed made his heavily hyped U.S. debut. His ceremonious arrival on the British Airways Concorde was covered by multiple media outlets. There, he and former WBC Featherweight Champion Kevin Kelley fought in Ring Magazine's fight of the year at the Madison Square Garden in New York. This fight marks something of a watershed in Hamed's career, as he was forced, for the first time, to abandon his hands-down style of fighting throughout the entire course of the bout, given the calibre of Kelley. Nonetheless, despite suffering three knockdowns himself, Hamed put Kelley down for a third and final time to win by a fourth round knockout. This was his first of many fights on HBO.
In 1998, Hamed enjoyed victories over former three-time WBA title holder Wilfredo Vazquez (TKO 7), former WBC Bantamweight Champion Wayne McCullough (W 12), and future IBF title holder Paul Ingle (TKO 11). In October 1999 at Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan, United States, Hamed defeated WBC Featherweight Champion Cesar Soto of Mexico over 12 ugly rounds, adding the WBC title to his collection & briefly unifying the WBC & WBO titles. Hamed soon chose to relinquish his WBC title due to his commitment to being WBO Champion.
Had Vazquez not been (deliberately) stripped by the WBA of his belt (the WBA did not want their featherweight title unified with the WBO), Hamed would have had the distinction of winning all four world titles in a division, something only Riddick Bowe had achieved at heavyweight.
In March 2000 at Olympia, Kensington, London, Hamed knocked out former undefeated long-reigning IBF Super Bantamweight title holder, Vuyani Bungu of South Africa. The fight was ended with a single straight left hand, in one of Hamed's most impressive performances & biggest victories.
Hamed successfully retained his WBO title for the 15th & final time in August 2000 against Augie Sanchez at Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States via a devastating fourth round knockout. After this bout, rather than face the unknown EBU Champion & WBO mandatory challenger István Kovács, Hamed relinquished his WBO title to pave the way for a Superfight with long-time rival, Marco Antonio Barrera.
On 7 April 2001 at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas, Hamed lost to Marco Antonio Barrera via a unanimous decision. Hamed's record at the time was 35-0 and he was a heavy favourite with bookmaker's odds of 1/8. After being wobbled in Round 1, Hamed could not hit Barrera with his trademark lefts as the Mexican boxer was equally as quick and was not fighting defensively. His game plan was to circle around Hamed anti-clockwise to negate Hamed's powerful left hand punch. It worked perfectly. On one occasion early in the fight, Hamed grabbed Barrera and they both fell to the ground where Barrera threw a right jab, leading to a warning from referee Joe Cortez. In the 12th and final round, Hamed, still looking for the knockout punch, missed wildy with a left hand, resulting in Barrera taking the opportunity to trap Hamed in a Half Nelson hold and force his head into the turnbuckle, whispering "Who's your daddy?" in Hamed's ear, resulting in a point deducted by referee Joe Cortez. Ultimately, Barrera was more versatile and threw more impressive combinations forcing Hamed into going for ill directed power punches.
On 18 May 2002 at ExCel Arena, Dockland, London, Hamed returned to the ring for what turned out to be his final boxing match, against the European Champion Manuel Calvo. Despite winning the fight comfortably by a unanimous decision, Hamed performed poorly, resulting in boos & derision from the British crowd during the later rounds. In a tense post-fight interview with Ian Darke, Hamed assured a quick return to the ring which ultimately never happened. Vague talk of a return to the sport has swirled around the charismatic fighter ever since, but no firm plans have ever been made.
In an interview for Sky Sports, Hamed mentioned that part of the reason that he left boxing after this fight was because of his commitments to his family, whom he would often not see for up to 9 weeks at a time whilst attending training camps. Hamed also gave an interview for BBC Radio Sportsweek and announced that his retirement was largely due to chronic hand problems, which meant he had to take tendinitis injections after every fight.
Hamed employed a unique style that flummoxed opponents and contributed to his tremendous popularity. Hamed's most powerful punch was a straight left that was known to knock strong fighters out in a single shot. He rarely threw combinations in excess of three punches, which were usually composed of two right jabs followed by a straight left, hook or uppercut. Because Hamed threw his left with such ferocity, he often lost his balance, a stylistic defect that opponents such as Kelley and Marco Antonio Barrera took advantage of. For defence, Hamed relied mainly on his sharp reflexes to avoid his adversaries' punches, rarely blocking shots and preferring to back away from strong attacks. His quick feet prevented him from getting stuck against the ropes or in corners. Hamed clinched infrequently, primarily because he was not usually sufficiently fatigued to warrant such tactics. When in clinches he would often throw lefts to opponents' heads. He was famous for dancing in the ring after knocking the opponent out.
Hamed was also known to clown around in the ring. When hit cleanly he would smile at opponents, make faces, shake his head, and shrug his shoulders to indicate that he was unhurt (this tactic is often used by boxers, usually with the opposite of the intended effect). Hamed sometimes danced in the ring and, ever the showman, usually entered by doing a flip over the ropes. This followed an extravagant ring walk, including walking along a catwalk in Madison Square Garden, being flown in on a magic carpet as well entering through a mock grave yard. Hamed's opponents did not generally respond to his taunts and horseplay, but his best, Barrera, was sufficiently infuriated by Hamed's flippancy to drive Hamed's head into a turnbuckle in the twelfth round of their fight costing himself a point.
On 2 May 2005 Hamed was involved in a 90-mph three-car collision at Ringinglow Road, Sheffield, while driving his £300,000 silver McLaren-Mercedes SLR. He was arrested on 3 May, released on bail and later charged at Sheffield Magistrates Court on 3 December.
On 31 March 2006 Hamed entered a plea of guilty and was warned he could face jail by a judge at Sheffield Crown Court. The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Alan Goldsack, adjourned the case until 12 May to allow pre-sentence reports to be prepared. The court heard how the man in the car Hamed hit, later revealed as 38-year-old Anthony Burgin, who had attended a number of previous hearings, was unable to come to court because he was in hospital for further treatment. His wife Clare was also injured.
On 12 May the court heard in a sentencing hearing how Hamed had been anxious to impress businessman Asif Goro, who was a passenger in the McLaren-Mercedes at the time of the crash. Hamed was showing what his car could do when he crossed a solid white line at a speed of at least 90 mph and crashed head-on into a Volkswagen Golf that emerged from a dip in the road. Hamed's car then hit a second vehicle, the Ford Mondeo he had been trying to overtake. Mr. Burgin, the driver of the Volkswagen Golf, was very seriously injured, breaking every major bone in his body and suffering bruising to the brain. Hamed escaped unhurt.
Hamed was sentenced for 15 months after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing. He was also given a four-year driving ban. Judge Alan Goldsack told Hamed: "I find it astonishing that the DVLA has not been prepared to co-operate with the prosecution to give them details of your earlier offences - apparently on human rights grounds." The DVLA's decision led to Hamed being sentenced without the judge being told he had previously been banned for a year for driving a Porsche at 110 mph on the M1 in Derbyshire. It was also revealed that Hamed had three other previous convictions for speeding offences, details of which the prosecution had to find from court records.
Hamed was granted an early release and left prison on 4 September 2006 after serving 16 weeks of the 15 month sentence. Hamed was placed under Home Detention Curfew for the remainder of his sentence, and monitored by an electronic tag. Anthony Burgin, the driver whom Hamed collided with, said: "I am shocked that after such a serious accident Mr Hamed has been released after less than four months." Nevertheless, the appointment of Hamed to be a "Member of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire" (otherwise known as an MBE) was annulled as a consequence of the conviction.
There was also a civil court case rumoured to cost Hamed up to £1 million plus legal costs, as Burgin was deemed unable ever to work again.
Burgin was later arrested and charged with dangerous driving for an incident alleged to have involved Eleasha Hamed (the wife of Naseem) on 19 April 2007. Burgin pleaded not guilty, and appeared in court on 17 March 2008, following which he was cleared of charges.
Naseem Hamed's Boxing story is seen by many experts in the sport as one of unfulfilled potential. Frank Warren the boxing promoter once said of Hamed: "I think at one stage he was the most exciting fighter that I'd ever been involved with. At one stage, in the early part of his career, he could have gone on to become one of the great fighters. But that disappeared when he didn't fight as regularly as he should have done, when he was cutting corners on his training. It just didn't work out for him from that point on.
"Moreover commentators have pointed out that Hamed's ability should have propelled him to achievements that would have given him legendary status, but that his noted dislike of the long hard training camps and long periods away from his family hindered this.
As popular lower weight fighters like Oscar de la Hoya and Kostya Tszyu moved into the mid-weight classes and the Mexican champion Julio César Chávez declined, Hamed and Arturo Gatti filled the void. Hamed's boxing antics made him the new poster-boy for lighter-weight boxers and his charisma attracted a large number of fans. Hamed was referenced by the rapper Nas in the song "You Won't See Me Tonight", with the lyrics "I can't forget how I met you//you thought I was a boxer//Prince Naseem but I'm a mobster, Nas from Queens". Hamed himself recorded a song with hip hop group Kaliphz called "Walk Like a Champion", which reached number 23 in the UK Singles Chart in 1996.
Respected British boxing pundit Steve Bunce stated on the 15 March 2008 edition of BBC panel show Fighting Talk that Hamed was the greatest British boxer of all time. World Boxing, a sister publication of the more famous The Ring magazine, ranked Hamed as the 11th greatest British boxer of all-time. The Ring Magazine also ranked Hamed as the 46th greatest puncher of all-time.
Record
* Amateur boxing:
o Fights: 67
o Wins: 65
o KOs: 18
o Losses: 2
o Drawn: 0
* Professional boxing:
o Fights: 37
o Wins: 36
o KOs: 32
o Losses: 1
o Drawn: 0

ScapposeJohn commenting on Shane Mosely possibly being unaware he was taking PED's wrote:
Likewise. It reminds me of President Clinton saying that he smoked weed in college but never inhaled. Yeah..........right.

WBO Junior Bantamweight Title-
Champion Omar Narvaez (TTR #3, The Ring #6; 33-0-2, 19 KOs)
Unan. Dec. 12
Victor Zaleta (WBO #11; 17-2, 9 KOs)
- Zaleta, the WBC FECOMBOX champion, was ranked in the top ten by the WBC, WBA, and IBF until he signed to fight Narvaez. He was then considered "Not Available" by all three of those organizations and removed from their respective ratings.
- Narvaez won handily by the scores of 120-107, 120-107, and 119-108.